$40M taxpayer incentive for Welland development rejected—council to make final decision Thursday 

Niagara Regional Council’s Committee of the Whole rejected Welland’s unprecedented request for $40 million in taxpayer funding to match the City’s own contribution to the Lock & Quay luxury housing project. 

The decision is not yet final as the ultimate outcome rests with Council which will need to ratify or overturn the committee’s recommendation at its meeting on August 28.

As reported by The Pointer, Welland is seeking to double the $40.2 million grant its taxpayers will now have to provide for the project, set to be built by L!V Developments, with a further contribution from the Region through the Brownfield Tax Incentive Grant (BTIG). 

The BTIG is designed to offset site remediation costs for brownfields to clean up things like contaminated soil. The developer’s own figures put remediation at just $181,062. Although the site had been used to dump soil from the construction of the Welland Canal, it was clean fill—not hazardous waste. But with Welland’s backing and a creative redefinition of “contamination” the request doubled to $40 million, almost all of it earmarked to subsidize construction rather than contaminant cleanup.

Welland Mayor Frank Campion strongly supported the developer who argued that the large volume of clean dirt requiring removal should be classified as a contaminant simply because there was so much of it and thereby making the project eligible for the record grant request. Campion made impassioned pleas that he claimed appealed to a sense of fairness. His argument ultimately failed to win majority support at the committee level.

The proposal drew widespread criticism. Regional staff emphasized that the request exceeded the program’s original intent, and several councillors described it as irresponsible and “nonsense” in light of the fiscal challenges facing the Niagara Region government. 

Missing entirely from the luxury development proposal along the banks of the Welland Recreational Canal is any affordable housing. When a councillor previously asked L!V Developments about including affordable units, the company stated that not only was affordable housing not part of the project, but they would also make no guarantees regarding the eventual affordability of the units they planned to build.

A recurring theme from supporters of the grant was that those who would vote against giving this money to the developer simply did not understand how Community Improvement Plans (CIPs) are meant to work. CIPs are taxpayer incentive programs meant to encourage development in underserved areas of a city or town. There is very little concrete evidence to show they work as intended. 

The Region’s professional staff opposed the grant and repeatedly warned it could leave Niagara in financial jeopardy for decades. At the forefront of those suggesting they had a superior grasp of the program — above their council colleagues, staff, and others who raised concerns — were Mayor Campion, St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe, St. Catharines Councillor Peter Secord, and Port Colborne Councillor Vance Badawey. None offered evidence to support their claims, relying instead on anecdotes — and, in at least one case, what appeared to be intimidation.

The incident unfolded when Siscoe criticized colleagues who opposed the grant, accusing them of having a “fundamental misunderstanding of how CIPs work.” As he repeated his well-worn refrain about the benefits incentive programs bring to communities—assertions he has made often despite evidence to the contrary—and perhaps sensing the $40 million request was facing stiff resistance, Siscoe invoked a higher power: “if we deny these incentives, I have a feeling this will garner some attention from Queen’s Park.”

The Lock and Quay project describes itself as a “visionary new development”. L!V Developments, the proponent of the project, has confirmed it will not include any affordable housing, despite a desperate need across Niagara Region.

(L!V Developments)

His comments were not well received. Councillor Haley Bateman said she was disappointed by Siscoe’s suggestion, adding that if the Premier were to review council decisions in a “punitive manner” while councillors were acting in the taxpayers’ best interests, it would reflect poorly on the Premier and be inappropriate. She further warned that if grants of this magnitude were approved for every municipality in Niagara, “you’re going to bankrupt the taxpayer first, and then you’re going to bankrupt the Region.”

Councillor Brian Heit echoed those concerns.

“I make decisions on behalf of the residents in Niagara, with what I believe is in their best interest and not what will please Queen’s Park,”  Councillor Heit told The Pointer following the meeting. “I hope Queen’s Park is paying some attention because we can’t continue subsidizing developers on the backs of our constituents. It’s not sustainable.”

Grimsby Councillor Michelle Seaborn added that the grant would cost her town’s taxpayers more than $3 million for their share while offering no benefit in return. She noted that Welland and Niagara Falls taxpayers would shoulder over 20 percent of the total — roughly $8 million — before concluding, “I think all the communities in the Region could find something better to do with that money.”

Lincoln Councillor Rob Foster agreed. 

“We have a significant financial problem in Niagara Region, all of us know it and yet we still seem to be willing to fork that money out the door willy-nilly. I have a problem with this. We have a huge cash flow problem and this is not going to help.”

The significant financial request comes as Niagara Region is entering into a contentious budgeting season. A motion from Council in May has all regional departments and outside agencies attempting to limit budget increases for 2026 to just 3.5 percent. The Niagara Police have said the request is nearly impossible, signalling there will be difficult fiscal wrinkles to be ironed out in the months to come. 

As debate drew to a close, one of the final councillors to speak was Andrea Kaiser of Niagara-on-the-Lake, who dismantled the math being presented by Siscoe and Secord. She pointed to the findings of a 2019 KPMG study, commissioned by the Region itself, which showed that the grants were failing to deliver promised returns and were not offsetting their costs. Other councillors nodded in agreement as Kaiser underscored that the very evidence available contradicted the narrative put forward by the grant’s strongest supporters.

A recurring theme among those opposed was a duty to protect taxpayers, warning that the grant would be unaffordable and unsustainable, a burden that would weigh on Niagara for decades to come.

When the final vote was called, the motion to grant any funds to the development was defeated twice. The first vote, which would have approved the full $40 million requested by the developer and the City of Welland, failed 18–6. A subsequent vote, which would have allowed the developer a maximum of $5 million, limited to the actual cost of remediating contaminated soil, was also defeated, 15–9.

The back-to-back defeats are a striking rebuke for proponents of incentive programs that have funneled tens of millions of dollars to developers across the Region. But the story is not over. 

Because the votes occurred in the Committee of the Whole, they carry no binding authority. Only a full meeting of the Regional Council can ratify or overturn the recommendation, leaving the fate of the grant still hanging in the balance. 

That final decision will come at the August 28 council meeting. Councillors will face a choice: uphold the committee’s rejection, or reverse course and award the developer just over $40 million. 

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